Chapter 24
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Chapter 24: Eternal! Eternal!
Bai Lian is not smart.
Of course, after experiencing many things, she is no longer the "bright genius" she used to be.
She feels that her intelligence is only at an average level.
Being in the current situation, she cannot find a bright path no matter what.
Road?
Not correct.
Actually, there is no road at all!
She looked around, only to find herself trapped in an inescapable prison.
Even if she could get out of the prison, the outside was an endless abyss of impenetrable darkness.
How to run?
Normally, Bai Lian has already resigned to her fate.
At this moment, there was no clear path ahead of her, her cultivation base was far inferior to Red Dust, and she had no support to overpower Red Dust. Her desires and aspirations were like a mirage, unattainable.
What’s the point of struggling anymore?
However, Red Dust didn’t want to let her have her way, even denying her the chance to wait for death. Instead, she was forced to witness her master’s death with her own eyes.
In the billions of simulations she had gone through, she had seen many similar situations before.
But at that time, she knew it wasn’t the end and all she had to do was to gather herself and dive into the next round of simulations.
The situation is completely different now.
Since Red Dust, who has already calculated everything, has exposed the situation, she will never give her another chance.
If the master is injured, then it is indeed an injury. If the master dies, then it is indeed death.
Just like that, in an instant, all futures will be stripped away!
Bai Lian stood quietly in place, bowing her head and looking silently at her feet.
She didn’t explicitly state to her master and the others, but when she came here, she wanted to completely resolve everything during this rehearsal.
Now what has she done?
She didn’t do anything!
Since entering the red light cluster, she has been shrouded in the shadow of Red Dust.
Even if you know some of the truth, so what?
She just let herself sink deeper and deeper into the despairing quagmire.
Ridiculous?
Hateful.
Pathetic?
It’s like several jars of spices have been knocked over and all the spices have mixed together, making Bai Lian feel incredibly uncomfortable from the choking smell.
Master sacrificed her life to lure away the Eternal Lord and buy time for her, but she wasted all that time, it is a bitter taste.
Her Martial Sisters anxiously waited outside and stood ready to fight for her at any moment, but she once had the thought of waiting for death, which tasted bitter.
The combination of bitter and salty already made people uncomfortable, but what made Bai Lian feel even more unbearable was the spicy taste.
That’s anger.
It’s anger towards the attempt of the Red Dust to manipulate her life.
It’s the powerless anger towards herself for being unable to do anything.
It’s anger towards herself for always easily retreating due to cowardice.
These angers were like the most terrible chili in the world, instantly detonating her nerves, and then causing an unusual power to emerge from deep within her body.
Bai Lian found that she was still bound and that nothing had changed.
Red Dust simply removed the ropes from her body but added more chains to her heart.
She is unwilling, she doesn’t accept it, she can’t tolerate it!
She must tear off these chains and walk out of this prison!
Even if she were to die the moment she walked out, it wouldn’t matter. Although the outcome remained the same, she at least tried!
The change in temperament is from the inside out, and it’s extremely slow, but Red Dust is still keenly aware of this.
In the face of Bai Lian’s gradually solidifying gaze, she suddenly laughed and said, "Do you want to kill me even more now?"
Her tone was full of teasing, as if the person standing in front of her was not a "sister," but a pet cat named Bai Lian.
To her, no matter how cute a pet cat may be, it is still just a pet.
When she likes something, like a pet cat, she can show it endless love and affection, even if it means sacrificing her own comfort for the cat’s sake.
When she gets tired of it, she can kick the pet cat heartlessly without any mercy.
Bai Lian fearlessly stared at Red Dust and said, "Do you want my master’s death to be the final straw that breaks my will?"
Red Dust said, "You can think of it that way."
She began to circle around Bai Lian, seemingly trying to observe her process of breakdown from different angles.
Bai Lian forcefully suppressed the chaotic emotions in her heart and spoke calmly to Red Dust, "Then you may be disappointed."
Red Dust smiled and said, "Is that so? Then I look forward to it."
The place where she walked was originally a void, but at some point, it was covered with a smooth, porcelain surface.
One-inch high heels tapped on the porcelain surface, producing a crisp and rhythmic sound that pounded Bai Lian’s heart with each beat.
Bai Lian remained unmoved and said, "In fact, I did consider other possibilities at the beginning, such as using myself as a bargaining chip to make you spare my master."
Red Dust said, "I also considered this possibility."
Bai Lian said, "But I quickly dismissed the idea."
Perhaps tired of being surrounded by onlookers, she also followed the rhythm of Red Dust and began circling around the "Water Mirror" that was playing the scene from An Lan’s side.
As they turned, it gradually became a duet.
The two had similar speeds and were in the same trajectory, but they would never intersect.
Red Dust asked, "Why?"
Bai Lian said, "I believe that you will spare my master, even if the past version of yourself was full of murderous intent towards her."
Red Dust nodded, "At least on this point, you haven’t guessed wrong."
Bai Lian continued, "You will spare my master, but my master will not spare you, nor herself. After I disappear, the master will surely come seeking revenge. There are only two possible outcomes in the end…"
One of them is that An Lan is killed.
The other is that An Lan kills Red Dust and then commits suicide.
These two outcomes don’t make any difference to Bai Lian.
Red Dust nodded slightly and said, "Yes, you’re right."
Bai Lian then said, "Therefore, I rejected that idea and had a new one."
"What idea?"
"The new Immeasurable Disaster has already arrived."
"You mean to say that the new Blank Tao is about to be born?"
"Exactly so."
Red Dust smiled brightly and said, "Do you want to convince me to let you go and focus on that brand new Blank Tao instead?"
Bai Lian doesn’t mind at all that her inner thoughts are being seen through by Red Dust.
Anyway, it’s not the first time.
She nodded.
Suddenly, countless cold airs spurted out of Red Dust’s body.
She had clearly told Bai Lian that she hated the Great Calamity and everything caused by theft of the Blank Tao, but Bai Lian still…
"This is how I initially thought."
Bai Lian’s voice rang out leisurely.
Red Dust’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt, as if Bai Lian had struck a vital point on her body, freezing her completely in place. It was as if taking even one more step would reveal her true intentions.
This answer was completely different from what she had imagined!
It’s off the mark.
You’ve gone off course!
The coldness emanating from her body was already spreading out, whether she tried to contain it or not.
And just as she came to a stop, Bai Lian, without slowing down, was already almost catching up to her from behind.
Red Dust suddenly became a little agitated and quickly quickened her pace, until within a few breaths, she had once again widened the gap between her and Bai Lian.
This sense of distance made her feel tremendously at ease, and all her worries were dispelled.
Bai Lian didn’t delve deeper into Red Dust’s change at this moment.
Even if we say it, it’s useless.
She didn’t understand Red Dust, and saying too much would only cause Red Dust to be resentful, and ultimately reject any communication with her.
She just continued to share her thoughts.
"But soon I discovered there was a problem with it. On a normal day, I might not have thought about it, but today my mind was particularly sharp."
"What is the problem?"
Red Dust’s voice was calm as usual.
Bai Lian said, "For someone who has planned so far ahead, it’s impossible for you not to have considered this possibility. You say you dislike everything that the Blank Tao brings about, but with the Monument of the Next World, everything can be avoided. You just need to find the location of the Blank Tao in the previous deduction, and then wait there beforehand in the next deduction to avoid all disputes and collect the Blank Tao."
Red Dust said, "You are right. Not long after you started deducing, I found the Blank Tao you were referring to."
Bai Lian said, "This way is indeed not feasible."
Red Dust laughed and said, "And then you came up with a new idea?"
Bai Lian shook her head and said, "I want to know why you didn’t choose to merge with the Blank Tao. When you found it, you could have verified your speculation, but it seems you didn’t do that. I can think of only three possibilities."
Red Dust narrowed her eyes and said, "What are the three possibilities?"
Bai Lian walked calmly and spoke calmly, "The first possibility is that you tricked me and actually hate me. You are determined to make me a stepping stone for your promotion to Faramita Immortal. Therefore, even if you found the Blank Tao, you have no intention of using it. The second possibility is that you have tried to merge with the Blank Tao, but failed, possibly because you are incomplete. The third possibility is that you have successfully merged with the Blank Tao but failed to stop the Immeasurable Disaster from coming because your speculation was wrong from the beginning."
Red Dust curled a strand of hair around her index finger and said, "Which possibility do you think is more likely?"
Bai Lian lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "The second possibility."
"Why?"
"I don’t think it’s necessary for you to lie to me about whether you hate me or not. Considering that you are still trying to erase my consciousness, the possibility of the second speculation is much greater than the third one."
Bai Lian looked at Red Dust, who didn’t answer immediately.
They looked at each other quietly, just like how An Lan and the Eternal Lord were reflected in the water mirror.
No one spoke and the narrow space became silent, with a thick sense of unease permeating the stillness.
After a long time, Red Dust was the first to break the silence.
"I take back what I said earlier. I didn’t overestimate you. You don’t understand me and my understanding of you is not comprehensive enough."
Bai Lian smiled and said, "People can grow and change."
Red Dust turned her head to stare at the water mirror and said, "No matter how much you say, it won’t change the current situation. The Eternal Lord is about to make a move."
Bai Lian followed her gaze and looked over.
As Red Dust had predicted, after a nostalgic and cordial exchange, the Eternal Lord could no longer hold back his desire to cross over to the Other Shore and finally made a move.
"Since you are still stubborn and unenlightened, then I have no choice but to take ruthless measures. You dared to show up today, so you must have been fully prepared. However, in the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks will be in vain!"
As soon as the words fell, flying shuttles scattered all around from the palm of the Eternal Lord’s hand.
Those flying shuttles were a type of magic treasures he had refined, possessing the power of endless transformations.
When it transformed into flying shuttles, it immediately covered every point of starlight in the boundless universe.
Looking at it from outside the Water Mirror, even Bai Lian couldn’t help but hold her breath, while An Lan, facing the flying shuttles, felt like she was confronting a rolling world.
"Eternal Lord, you’re still the same as before."
There was no joy or sorrow on An Lan’s face.
Since it’s about delaying time, we have to delay it to the end.
Without receiving any news from Bai Lian, how could she easily die here?
Yes.
She is now badly injured and still lacks two paths of the Great Tao. But with the remaining six paths of the Great Tao in her body and her understanding of the Eternal Lord, she will definitely not be killed with just one encounter.
In the next moment, thousands of shuttles pierced through An Lan’s body, but the Eternal Lord didn’t show any amusement.
"The Way of Voidness?"
What he encountered was nothing but a mirror image built by An Lan using the Way of Voidness. The real An Lan had long transformed into countless phantoms and disappeared into the void.
When An Lan was young, she was able to rise against the suppression of many old Immortal Emperors and Heavenly Lords, relying on her superb escape technique.
The Eternal Lord is very calm.
He never played up his own strengths to pointedly attack the enemy’s weaknesses. He scattered innumerable divine senses and displayed his innate magical powers, dissolving the surrounding time and space into a quagmire.
When a slight disturbance was sensed from somewhere, the Eternal Lord acted decisively.
He moved so fast that Bai Lian couldn’t see how he was doing it.
A million-mile-long scar was just drawn in the deep starry sky. The next moment, the Immortal Lance piercing out from the void collided with the billions of sword rays controlled by the Eternal Lord.
Everything is happening too fast and too suddenly.
The starry sky wasn’t prepared, and neither was Bai Lian.
In an instant, a brilliant light scattered and countless stars exploded. Bai Lian outside the water mirror hurriedly turned her head, but she was still blinded by the light imbued with the will of the Great Tao, and a profound pain that penetrated her marrow eroded her body.
However, this situation didn’t last too long. Now, at least she was an incomplete Heavenly Lord. With a turn of her Great Tao of Creating New Life, her eyes were restored to their original state.
She’s not worried about herself, she’s only worried about her master.
Bai Lian hurriedly looked towards the water mirror, her anxious expression evident.
The voice of Red Dust suddenly sounded, "She won’t die so quickly, but with this broken body, she won’t last much longer."
Bai Lian remained silent.
At this moment, no matter what Red Dust says or what happens on her master’s side, she cannot panic.
She talked so much with Red Dust, partly to get to know her better, and partly to distract her and buy herself some time.
She has done this countless times in the face of danger.
She still remembered what Red Dust had said, that Red Dust didn’t fully understand what she had done in her deductions.
She wanted to bet that Red Dust had not lied and that she didn’t know that not only had she obtained the Monument of the Next World, but also the Past Stele and the Present Stele in this deduction.
If she could find a way to destroy the Past Stele and the Present Stele and release the power within those two stones, then she would have a one in a billion chance of surviving.
Red Dust seemed to be completely unaware of her small movements and still watched with interest as An Lan fought against the Eternal Lord.
How could the Eternal Lord, who was at the peak of his power, not overpower the weak An Lan?
Even if she exerted all her potential and even directly sacrificed her own soul, An Lan still gradually fell behind.
"Eternal Life Country!"
The Eternal Lord, who resided in the midst of the way of the Great Tao, was draped in a golden light that extended for thousands of feet, and he appeared as the supreme god who governed all the heavens and the myriad realms.
As soon as he spoke, the way of the Great Tao bowed in reverence, the spirit Qi surrendered, and the stars lost their luster.
With a wave of his hand, the divine kingdom began to take form. On a vast square that was difficult to see its boundaries, one after another towering figures knelt down.
Those figures weren’t simple, even though they were separated by countless miles, Bai Lian could still sense the ancient and desolate terrifying aura emitted by each of them. Each figure seemed to be an expert who has shaken the heavens before!
What is meant by "stars"?
They are the most dazzling stars!
In fact, that is the case, each figure within it has at least possessed the cultivation base of Immortal Emperor level.
In the long years, they eventually fell into decay, either experiencing great misfortunes or perishing at the hands of the Eternal Lord.
In the end, their last remaining trace was captured by the Eternal Lord and thrown into the Eternal Life Country, becoming the eternal guardians of the divine kingdom.
Their Great Tao has long since scattered, but the rhythm of the Great Tao rooted in their traces has been preserved.
In the dojo of the divine kingdom, the rhythms of the Great Tao are intertwined, and whispers are constantly heard, as if there are countless great powers discussing with each other.
The Great Tao is attached to the world, and the more it is debated, the clearer it becomes!
And overseeing all of this is the ruler of the divine kingdom, the Saint above the Great Tao.
The Eternal Lord!
The Eternal Way is the foundation of the Eternal Lord, but the Eternal Kingdom is the greatest reliance of the Eternal Lord!
Once the Eternal Kingdom is truly established, he will be able to transcend above the Great Tao and forcibly open up the path to reach the Other Shore!
In fact, the number of Ways of theGreat Tao that the Eternal Lord has mastered is not as many as An Lan today, but it is because of the existence of the Eternal Kingdom that his strength and talent can be considered as the first in the world.
People don’t know that the reason why he is determined to pursue and kill An Lan is not just because of the method to cross to the Other Shore.
Even if there is no method, so what?
An Lan has a total of eight Great Tao on her body, which is exactly what he urgently needs. If An Lan is thrown into the divine kingdom, she will be perfect to lead those remnants in the divine kingdom.
"The divine kingdom is unparalleled in the world!"
The Eternal Lord’s roar resounded through the heavens, making the colors of the starry sky change.
The invisible power of the Great Tao flows in all directions under his decree.
This is a terrifying technique that surpasses everything An Lan can comprehend; even if she struggles to dodge, she will ultimately be unable to escape and only be forced to watch as the scenery around her changes.
The starry sky disappeared, and she fell into a large square.
Numerous people kneel in front of a high platform, the continuous buzzing sound seems to suggest that someone is reciting ancient scriptures.
As soon as she stepped on the stone slab, all those who were kneeling stood up.
Their figures grew larger and larger until they turned into gigantic beings that towered over everything. These giants then turned in unison to stare coldly at An Lan with indifferent expressions.
Oppressive pressure!
Unmatched oppressive pressure!
An Lan rallied all her energy and Focus to the fullest.
At this moment, even if she were to slack off for a moment, she would be completely overwhelmed and unable to get up again.
She gritted her teeth tightly, "There is still no news from Bai Lian’s side. I cannot die at this moment. I cannot let the Eternal Lord cause trouble there!"
Watching the huge shadows rushing towards her, An Lan no longer held back anything.
Anyway, there will be another chance. Now all she had to do was to burn herself up like an exploding supernova, as long as the light she exploded in a flash was enough to illuminate the heavens, then everything she did was worth it.
"They are nothing but some broken traces of the way of the Great Tao. How dare they act recklessly in front of me!"
A cold and stern shout rushed out from the closed god realm, deeply penetrating into the depths of Bai Lian’s soul.
She only saw her master hold up the Immortal Lance in her hand, and the flashing white light twisted around the lance like a dragon, making the sky darken in an instant.
"Master!"
Bai Lian’s heart tightened and she almost couldn’t breathe.
As a huge palm descended from the sky, An Lan instinctively turned around and plunged the divine lance into her own soul.
Peel off!
She was peeling off the six ways of the Great Tao that remained within her body!
Her body and spirit were both broken, and she was no match for the Eternal Lord at this moment, no matter what.
Only the Great Tao within her, even after experiencing countless iterations of deduction and no matter how much affliction endured, has not weakened in the slightest but rather grown even more robust.
This move seems to have alarmed the will of the heavens.
Suddenly, thunder, heavenly flames, and hurricane descended from the dark divine sky.
However, this is not the kind of third calamity that cultivators at the Transmigration Stage can withstand.
Such tribulations originate from the essence of the Heavenly Way, and even the Great Tao itself would experience wear and tear.
Blood flowed from the corner of An Lan’s mouth, but she showed no fear.
"Fighting with your life?" The Eternal Lord’s expression finally showed some change. "The Abyss of Eternity!"
He struck with a black Heavenly Abyss, and in the endless explosions, he finally managed to barely stop the Heavenly Tribulation.
But it was this moment of relaxation that gave An Lan an opportunity. The six Great Tao were stripped away one by one, and each one of them turned into a gigantic Dharma body. The six Dharma bodies each occupied their own place, and they shot out dazzling golden light, protecting An Lan.
That big hand finally came down.
But before it could act fiercely, the Dharma body transformed by the Way of Nothingness lifted its hand and struck.
A focal point appeared in the void, and everything around it was swallowed up, centered on that point.
This also includes that big hand, which was instantly torn apart into pieces, and the residual image of the hand’s controller could not avoid the fate of being swallowed up.
If it were not for the other residual images hiding fast, they would not have escaped the fate of being involved.
The Eternal Lord’s face darkened as he stared fixatedly at An Lan, who was concealed in the golden shield.
At this moment, An Lan lay on her side on the ground, with blood stains at the corner of her mouth. One of her arms was also bleeding heavily and she was severely injured.
As long as they could break through the golden shield, even if the Great Tao’s Dharma-body was ferocious, the battle would immediately determine a winner.
The Eternal Lord is no longer a bystander.
He cannot delay.
Over time, most of the traces of the Great Tao he had gathered would undoubtedly be erased by An Lan’s Dharma-body.
Although the Divine Kingdom has the effect of nurturing, even so, if they don’t obtain the method of crossing to the Other Shore, they will still be at a loss when the time comes.
"Madwoman!"
The Eternal Lord became anxious and cursed in his heart.
He never imagined that An Lan would resort to such a deadly method to confront him.
There is no such fighting style between the Heavenly Lords.
He urged the residual images in the Divine Kingdom to encircle the Dharma body, while he advanced all the way, breaking through the encirclement and descending beside the golden light shield.
This golden light shield is not an ordinary object.
This is clearly the strongest barrier formed by the interweaving of the way of the Great Tao.
The Eternal Lord constantly imprinted his mark on the barrier, with loud rumbling sounds that lasted for a long time. Even Bai Lian outside the water mirror felt her scalp tingling from the impact, while An Lan inside the golden light shield was hit even harder.
Blood began to flow from her ears, and her eyes became blurry.
However, the golden light shield didn’t break.
Under the magical power of the dharma body, more and more afterimages fell, torn apart and trampled.
"Damn it, damn it…"
The Eternal Lord hurriedly took out the Eternal Sword Box.
These are the set of magic treasures he spent a lot of effort refining, but now he can’t keep being stingy anymore. The longer he delays, the greater his losses will be. It is better to cut off one arm now.
Boom, boom, boom…
One after another, the swords flew out of the sword box, and then exploded violently as they hit the golden light shield.
The solid golden light shield trembled more and more violently, and An Lan, who was inside, couldn’t help but let out a whimper.
She is enduring great pain.
The rapid passing of life force caused her hair to gradually turn white, and wrinkles began to appear on her skin.
The Eternal Lord who saw this scene finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Quickly, An Lan is almost at her limit!
In addition to the surprise, there was also a sense of panic in his heart. If it were not for the fact that many people had launched an attack against An Lan at the time, if only he had come forward, would he still have a chance to stand here today?
I’m afraid there isn’t.
"You have achieved such strength in just ten thousand years of cultivation. Even if you fall today, your reputation will never be erased from the river of time. You can be proud!"
An Lan remained silent and didn’t even glance at the Eternal Lord.
The Eternal Lord thought he would see an uneasy face, but in the end, what he saw was a smiling face.
Is she laughing?
What is she laughing at?
For some reason, the Eternal Lord felt a hint of fear in his heart.
I can’t keep her.
The Eternal Lord hastily took out several god-slaying swords and threw them out one by one. But it didn’t end there- he also threw out more immortal treasures and divine artifacts like scattering sand.
In the end, he even self-immolated his divine blood to refine the strongest trace of the way of the Great Tao, which shocked and tore through the sky for thousands of miles and landed on the golden light barrier.
"Crack–"
After a violent shaking, a clear sound spread leisurely throughout the heavens.
The Eternal Lord was stunned.
Bai Lian was stunned.
Tong Yao was stunned.
Ruomu in the Land of Immortals was also stunned.
Has that golden barrier finally been broken?
The Eternal Lord couldn’t contain his joy and flew straight towards that direction.
But when he flew near the golden barrier, the six great avatars, who were still battling with afterimages, all collapsed.
In just a moment, a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the entire divine kingdom.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Bai Lian held her chest and stared silently at the water mirror.
Red Dust said, "She’s done for."
So we’ve finally come to this point, huh?
The golden light slowly dissipated, and the Eternal Lord wiped the blood from his lips. He calmly looked at the woman who was not far from him.
The Immortal Heavenly Lord, who was once peerless and brilliant in her youth, has now turned into an old woman in her twilight years.
She lay quietly on the bluestone, her face full of smiles. The golden light had protected her body, so she didn’t die immediately despite the collapse of the barrier.
But what’s the use of it?
"You are the most talented person I have ever seen, and I was able to defeat you only by a stroke of luck."
The Eternal Lord looked around. In this battle, his divine kingdom had been destroyed by half, and his only reward was probably a little peace of mind.
At least from now on, he doesn’t have to worry about An Lan seeking revenge on him.
Swish.
The Eternal Lord swung a sharp blade that pierced through An Lan’s body.
